The Climate Change Committee has issued a report that says climate change could have an effect on infrastructure in the UK. Their 2,000 page report states that the UK is not fully prepared for the risks posed by climate change from flooding, coastal change, heatwaves, water shortage, ecosystem damage and shocks to the global food system.
As a result, key infrastructure could be threatened by climate change. For instance, flooding will destroy bridges and wreck electricity, gas and IT connections they carry.
In relation to infrastructure, the chairman of the committee's adaptation sub-committee, Professor Sir John Krebs, said that: "Infrastructure could be affected in a way that interacts. So, if you take electricity supply, the delivery of fuel to power stations might be affected by flooding which would then affect electricity. Then look at flooding… if bridges are affected then they carry electricity cables and communications infrastructure, so we have to look not just at how each piece of infrastructure works but how they interact together. There could be a cascade of risks."
The report highlights the following as the top six areas of inter-related climate change risks for the UK:
The first two points are ranked as being a high risk in the present day, with the other points becoming more of a risk in the future.
A government spokesperson said: "We are committed to making sure the UK is prepared for the challenges of climate change. That is why we are investing record amounts in flood defences, developing a long-term plan for the environment and reviewing planning legislation so new construction projects are sustainable and resilient."
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